Of course I don’t have anything against Western alt-histories – I’m from the Wild West, after all – but it’s just a matter of predicting the future and trying to plan for the ‘problems’ we’re likely to have that month.

One of the fun things about Crossed Genres is that we get submissions from all around the world. Given that, I think it would be a bit of a shame if we aren’t sent at least a few Middle Eastern, Asian or African alternate histories, but at least I have an idea of what we’re likely to get automatically. That lets me know that if I want a wider variety, I’ll have to reach a little farther than I would normally have to.

I tend to think of this sort of ‘problem’ as an opportunity for growth.

My online friends who write alternate history use Western themes for the most (though some, like the Anglo-Saxons, are somewhat exotic) and the one lady who played with stories set in an alternate Japenase world hasn’t posted anything writing-related for a long time. Which is a pity because her stuff is pretty good.

Here’s an interesting story despite the Western theme because of the unusual combination of historical subtext and steampunk. I can point Danny towards the magazine; maybe he has something that would fit.

I don’t know if Scott Oden has the time to write an story or a non fiction essay, but his last novel, currently with his agent, is an alternate Crusade setting, and I had some discussions with him about the alternate approach since we both come from the historical fiction angle and have to deal with ideas that are some version of Alternate History, Historical Fantasy or whatever. Perhaps he might be interested in contributing to your magazine.

Should I get bitten by an alternate plotbunny in short story form, it would be a Western setting as well, I admit. I just know most about the Romans and the Middle Ages.

Sword and Sorcery writers and essayists often have a soft spot for Alternate History as well thanks to the tradition of Harold Lamd and RE Howard. The contributors to The Cimmerian could be another candidate for an essay. Btw, some of Harold Lamb’s stories feature non-Western cultures; in case they are not too outdated (not to me, lol, but I still like books like Ivanhoe).

Alternate history buff, eh? Can you recommend any non-Western alternate history stories? We’re expecting to get a lot of subs based on American and European events, but when the time comes, we’d like to provide a few examples reminding our contributors that there’s a whole lot of world history out there to draw from.

When the Alternate History gets on the plate, tell me. I may be able to come up with a suggestion or two where to pimp that one, besides my own blog.